NHL cancels chunk of games, All-Star Weekend

Updated 7:35 pm, Friday, November 23, 2012

The latest round of cancellations cost the NHL another of its prime events as the All-Star Game joins the outdoor Winter Classic as lockout casualties.

The latest round of cancellations cost the NHL another of its prime events as the All-Star Game joins the outdoor Winter Classic as lockout casualties.

Photo: Sean Kilpatrick, SUB

NHL cancels chunk of games, All-Star Weekend

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More than a third of the NHL regular season and two of its marquee events have been called off.

The league announced its latest round of cancellations Friday - day 69 of its labor lockout. All games through Dec. 14 were wiped out, and this time All-Star Weekend, scheduled for Jan. 26-27 in Columbus, Ohio, was lost, too. The New Year's Day outdoor Winter Classic had been scratched.

"We feel badly for NHL fans and particularly those in Columbus, and we intend to work closely with the Blue Jackets organization to return the NHL All-Star events to Columbus and their fans as quickly as possible," Daly said in a statement.

The Blue Jackets said fans holding tickets to the game and other events could receive refunds.

Brian Jack, 35, an IT director who grew up in Pittsburgh, moved to Columbus 17 years ago and converted from a Penguins fan to a Blue Jackets fan after the expansion team hit the ice.

"We knew the All-Star Game, the longer it went, was probably going to be one of the first special events they canceled," said Jack, a season-ticket holder for all of the 12 Blue Jackets seasons. "You knew it was coming, but I hoped that they would get together and fix it (labor problems) up. For season-ticket holders who have watched the Blue Jackets struggle for a number of years with the product on the ice, the All-Star Game was supposed to be a bright spot. Now that's gone."

A lockout in the 1994-95 season shortened that campaign to 48 games. A similar scenario could play out this time if the sides can find some common ground. Or the whole season could be lost, as it was in 2004-05.